You might remember reading our article on June 17th discussing Jindal's plan to build sand berms to stop the flow of oil into Louisiana's coastal wetlands. The response from the Obama administration and scientific community was a collective, "huh?" The idea seemed to be more about sticking it to the feds and less about addressing the situation in a logical way.
Read on to learn about Bobby Jindal's most recent grand idea.
Well, guess what. Governor Jindal is at it again - but this time he is defending building rock jetties, another idea that is completely unsupported by science and was quickly refuted by 16 prominent Louisiana-based coastal scientists.
Millions of your tax dollars have been invested helping these men and women become the world's acknowledged experts on coastal Louisiana. Yet Gov. Jindal and Jefferson Parish officials want to ignore them. Why?
This brings me to the diversion, fur coat and panic parts of his approach.
Since the oil began spewing, Jindal has been trying to convince people the reason our wetlands are being poisoned and people are out of work is those damn feds. It's a diversion. If he screams loud enough, maybe people will forget that he was a big supporter of risky deepwater drilling.
He is making villains of those responding to the disaster, not those responsible for it. The fur coat comes from an old adage that applies to many people elected to public office: "Give a gorilla a fur coat, and he thinks he's King Kong." Jindal thinks "governor" is not an office but a title, one that comes with a crown that bestows divine enlightenment: He must know more than the scientists because he was elected. That's why he can ignore the experts.
Finally, we come to panic -- which is the enduring image the nation may be getting from the most visible Louisiana politicians during this crisis. They see men screaming at cameras, raging at the federal government about this oil disaster. The same men are screaming that we need to continue drilling more wells and ignoring their own scientists' advice on how to deal with the problems.
If we have a future on this coast, we will need the nation's help in the form of tens of billions of dollars for coastal projects. Politicians spewing distortions, ignoring experts and wasting tens of millions of dollars doesn't inspire investor confidence.
Louisiana has the world's foremost experts on its coastal ecosystem. The governor and other elected public servants should heed their advice.
How do you feel about the Governor's response to the spill? Voice your opinion in our poll below.
Poll
How do you feel about Governor Jindal's performance following the oil spill?
